Railway journal lubricating pad



Sept. 10, 1963 J. J. HENNESSY, JR 3,400,981

RAILWAY JOURNAL LUBRICATING PAD Filed Sept. 6, 1966 FIG.2 3

INVENTOR ATTORN Y5 United States Patent 3,400,981 RAILWAY JOURNAL LUBRICATING PAD James J.'Hennessy, Jr., Chambersburg, Pa., assignor t0 Hennessy Lubricator Co., Inc., Chambersburg, Pa., a

corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 577,378

r Claims. (Cl. 308243) The invention relates to the lubrication of a railway axle journal of the type mounting a friction bearing" such as are in common use in Association of American Railroads (A.A.R.) standard journal boxes and the invention comprises an improved pad for feeding oil from the sump, formed in the bottom of the journal box, to the journal and distributing the oil to the surface of the journal.

Among the objects of the invention are to .feed the oil evenly throughout the feeding surface of the pad, to avoid scarring the journal surface, to insure long useful life to the distributing surface, to produce a pad of the type referred to which is efficient and of lower cost than many which have been proposed previously, and a pad which is readily applied beneath a journal in a journal box and is easily removed for replacement. A more specific object is to utilize a pad having an exterior face of tufted yarn facing in all directions where the pad may contact axle faces and be worn down by the same or scar the same by presenting hard surfaces to the journal bearing surface or to adjacent collar or fillet surfaces.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the pad unit.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the lower portion of an ordinary railway journal box and journal to which the pad is applied.

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical section on line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a detail of the casing in an initial stage of manufacture.

In the drawings, a wheel 1 is pressed onto an axle 2 which includes a dry seat 3, a journal 4 with a collar 5. A journal box is mounted on journal 4 in the usual manner (not shown) and includes a bottom wall 6 and side walls 7. The lower portion of the box forms a sump for lubricating oil which is fed to the rotating journal by a readily inserted pad which comprises a block-like core 11, vertically disposed wicks 12 passing through the core from bottom to top, and a casing 13 enclosing the core. Core 11 is a single hexahedron of rubber-like material which is readily compressed or distorted and normally has fiat bottom side, end and top faces. Each wick 12 consists of a woven thread sleeve S with a filler 14 of cotton fibre or similar material adapted to conduct oil freely. Core 11 has vertical apertures of smaller diameter than wicks 12 so that they are stretched to receive the wicks and tightly embrace them so that no separate securing elements are required. The ends of each Wiok filler project slightly from the bottom and top faces of the core and the wick sleeve ends so that the filler material naturally flares at 15 laterally of the sleeve over the adjacent core face. Preferably there are a pair of wicks spaced substantially from each other along the longitudinal center line of the core and spaced substantially from the sides and ends of the core.

Casing 13 is formed of an elongated, relatively narrow band or strip of woven canvas or similar fabric from one face of which loops or tufts 17 of yarn project from end to end of the strip but terminate short of the elongated sides of the strip, leaving plain selvage-like margins or edges 18, 19.

The strip is doubled transversely of its length, with the tufted face inside and the ends v20 stitched together at 21 (FIG. 4), forming a closed tube or loop. The stitching is 3,400,981 Patented Sept. 10, 1968 continued at 22 through the double-over parts of one selvage edge 18 (FIG. 2) at one side of the loop thus completing a three-sided pocket which is turned inside out to present the tufted surface outwardly and with the stitching 21, 22 forming internal seams.

Core 11 is inserted in this pocket and the portions of the material at the open end of the pocket extending beyond the uncovered face of the core are tucked over that face and the corresponding portions of the selvage edge 19 are turned outwardly and stitched together at 23, forming an external seam and completing a casing snugly enclosing the core. A loop 25 of flexible material is attached to the selvage edge 19 for pulling the pad out of the box from beneath the journal.

A pad so constructed is economically produced and readily inserted in the box beneath the journal and removed for cleaning and replacement and satisfactorily fulfills the objectives previously stated, particularly in providing a tufted yarn face for conducting oil to all metal surfaces which require lubrication.

The details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of those modifications coming within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

l. A railway axle journal box lubricant distributor pad comprising a single, rectangular block of yielding rubberlike material, oil feeding wicks extending through said block from its bottom to its top and projecting from the bottom and top surfaces and disposed along the longitudinal center line of said block only and substantially spaced from each other throughout their length and also substantially spaced from the sides and ends of said block, and an enclosing casing for the block and wicks consisting of Woven fabric material with tufted cable yarn projecting from the exterior face of the casing throughout the outer surfaces of the pa d bottom, top, sides and ends, the ends of said wicks being in contact with the woven fabric material.

2. A railway axle journal box lubricant distributor pad according to claim 1 in which the block enclosing casing comprises a single, elongated strip of material wrapped around the top, bottom and two vertical faces of the block with its ends turned inwardly from the tufted yarn face and stitched together, the top and bottom layers of the strip having portions projecting beyond the sides of the block and being folded over the same and stitched together, the stitched portions forming horizontal seams intermediate the upper and lower faces of the block with the tufted yarn exterior of the strip being continuous throughout the exterior of the pad.

3. A railway axle journal box lubricant distributor pad according to claim 1 in which the casing is formed of an elongated, relatively narrow strip folded double transversely of its length with the opposite edges of the ends of the strip turned inwardly away from the tufted yarn face and stitched together to form an inside seam, adjacent elongated edges at one side of the doubled strip being turned inwardly and away from the tufted yarn face and stitched together to form an inside seam, portions of the other side edges of the doubled strip being tucked inwardly from the tufted yarn surface and over the block and the remaining portions of the latter mentioned side edges of the strip being turned outwardly and stitched together and forming an outside seam, the casing providing tufted yarn surfaces on the pad throughout the corners of the pad and throughout the faces of the pad except for the one mentioned outside seam.

4. A railway journal box lubricant distributor pad comprising an outer casing consisting of an. elongated, relatively narrow strip of woven fabric with selvaged longitudinal edges and having tufted cable yarn projecting from one face between said edges, the strip being doubled transversely of its length with its two ends turned inwardly and stitched together to form a closed loop with an inside seam, portions of said selvaged edge at one side of the loop being turned inwardly and stitched together to form, with the remainder of the strip, a pocket with one open end, a hexahedron block of yielding rubber-like material inserted in said pocket, the other selvaged edge of said strip disposed about the open end of said pocket having spaced portions tucked over the adjacent face of said block and the remaining portions of said other selvaged edge being stitched together and forming an exterior seam along said block face intermediate the top and bottom faces of the block.

5. In combination with a railway axle journal, bearing and axle box assembly, in which the journal has a collar and fillet, a lubricant distributor pad including a single rectangular block of rubber-like material and a casing enclosing the entire top, bottom side and end faces of said pad and formed of woven fabric with a tufted pile continuous exterior in contact With the journal throughout the length and width of the pad, there being vertically elongated Wick structures of restricted cross section area spaced apart along the longitudinal center lines of the block and spaced from the sides and ends thereof and elongated through the vertical thickness of the pad to eX-' tend into contact with the inner faces of the top and bottom sections of said casing, said pad, including said block and wicks, being compressed between the lower wall of the axle box and the lower surface of the journal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,920,928 1/1960 Burkart et al 308243 MARTIN P. SC HWADRON, Primary Examiner.

FRANK SUSKO, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A RAILWAY AXLE JOURNAL BOX LUBRICANT DISTRIBUTOR PAD COMPRISING A SINGLE, RECTANGULAR BLOCK OF YEILDING RUBBERLIKE MATERIAL, OIL FEEDING WICKS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID BLOCK FROM ITS BOTTOM TO ITS TOP AND PROJECTING FROM THE BOTTOM AND TOP SURFACES AND DISPOSED ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER LINE OF SAID BLOCK ONLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY SPACED FROM EACH OTHER THROUGHOUT THEIR LENGTH AND ALSO SUBSTANTIALLY SPACED FROM THE SIDES AND ENDS OF SAID BLOCK, AND AN ENCLOSING CASING FOR THE BLOCK AND WICKS CONSISTING OF WOVEN FABRIC MATERIAL WITH TUFTED CABLE YARN PROJECTING FROM THE EXTERIOR FACE OF THE CASING THROUGHOUT THE CUTTER SURFACES OF THE PAD BOTTOM, TOP, SIDES, AND ENDS, THE ENDS OF SAID WICKS BEING IN CONTACT WITH THE WOVEN FABRIC MATERIAL. 